When “Napoleon Dynamite” hit theaters in 2004 (yes, it has been six years), a friend and I went to see it in the theater. Apparently, we saw two different movies, because while I loved it, she dubbed it “The worst movie ever made.”
When it came out on DVD, I bought it and watched it with a different friend. I still loved it and she did as well. The two of us watched it again a few days later and were still quite entertained.
After a few days of hearing the second friend and I do the impersonations and say the catchphrases, the first friend reluctantly agreed to re-watch it. After seeing it a second time, she decided that it was far from the worst movie ever made. In fact, she said, it was actually quite entertaining.
However, I haven’t seen the movie since then. I haven’t necessarily forgotten about it, I just haven’t had the desire to watch it again.
Now comes news that Fox has ordered six episodes of an animated series based on the movie — featuring actors from the first movie such as Jon Heder as Napoleon, Efren Ramirez as Pedro, Aaron Ruell as Kip Dynamite and Jon Gries as Uncle Rico — and I’m unsure what to think.
I will definitely give it a try, but it sort of feels like too long has passed. Plus, I’m not sure how much of an audience there will be for the show. When Kevin Smith brought an animated version of “Clerks” to television, the show was canceled by ABC due to low ratings. It’s not hard to see a similar fate befalling an animated “Napoleon Dynamite” series.
By playing on Fox, the expectations for ratings will likely be a bit too high. My guess is the show would be better off on a cable network, such as MTV, where lower ratings wouldn’t be as problematic.
In any event, I’m tempted to pull out my “Napoleon Dynamite” DVD and see how I feel about the movie more than half a decade later. The fact that I’m not anxious to do so is what is making me feel wary about the show’s chances.
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Follow Sean Gerski on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DoubleDown44.